Spanish technology firm GMV has introduced LUPIN, a lunar navigation system designed to operate much like GPS, allowing for more intuitive lunar missions similar to how apps like Google Maps or Waze guide drivers on Earth. The project is part of a broader initiative by the European Space Agency to explore innovative positioning, navigation, and timing techniques, driven by the growing interest in lunar exploration. This includes scientific research, mining possibilities, and even the potential for future lunar tourism.
Steven Kay, the project director, explained to Reuters, “With this software, we bring Europe closer to establishing a presence of humans on the moon and, potentially, this would be a stepping stone towards Mars exploration or human presence on Mars.”
GMV has already conducted field trials for the LUPIN system in Fuerteventura, one of Spain’s Canary Islands, where the terrain resembles the lunar surface. By leveraging signals from satellites orbiting the moon, the technology would enable real-time location tracking for rovers and astronauts on the lunar surface, similar to how GPS functions on Earth.
Navigating the moon’s surface has been a challenge so far, as spacecraft must rely on complex calculations and data from Earth, which can be slow and imprecise. GMV highlighted that communication is hindered by the need for direct line-of-sight with Earth or the use of relay satellites in lunar orbit, both of which create areas of shadow and introduce latency that complicates real-time decision-making.
The lack of immediate updates about changes in the moon’s terrain, such as lunar dust shifts or impacts, also poses difficulties for surface travel. GMV aims to address this by combining existing lunar maps with data from moon-orbiting satellites that monitor dark regions like the lunar south pole and the far side, areas that remain in perpetual shadow.
“We want these rovers to map the surface of the moon in a fast and safe way so that astronauts can return in a few years, work there, and set up permanent bases,” said Mariella Graziano, GMV’s head of strategy.